England and Wales
Courts in England and Wales
Judicial work divided into six jurisdictions, with a statutory guarantee of judicial independence that is United Kingdom-wide and carves Scotland out inside itself.
Facts verified:
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The judiciary presents the work of the courts and tribunals of England and Wales as six jurisdictions: civil, criminal, family, tribunals, military and coroners. Civil justice is mainly dealt with in the County Courts; the tribunals are described as specialist courts whose judges and members hear a wide range of cases; and coroners investigate certain deaths which are deemed to be unnatural or violent, or where the cause is unknown.
Judicial independence has a statutory guarantee. Section 3 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 provides that the Lord Chancellor, other Ministers of the Crown and all with responsibility for matters relating to the judiciary or otherwise to the administration of justice must uphold the continued independence of the judiciary.
The section extends to the whole United Kingdom, and subsection (2) disapplies the duty where imposing it would be within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament. A United Kingdom extent is therefore not the same thing as a uniform United Kingdom rule, which is the single most useful thing to carry away from reading these statutes.
Sources
Sources
Jurisdictions — Courts and Tribunals Judiciary
Courts and Tribunals Judiciary (England and Wales) · Government publication · link verified 2026-09-18
SCOPE: the jurisdictions into which judicial work is divided. The judiciary's own page, read directly. Supports that the work is presented as six jurisdictions — civil, criminal, family, tribunals, military and coroners — and that civil justice in England and Wales is mainly dealt with in the County Courts. It is an overview page and establishes nothing about the hierarchy of individual courts, rights of appeal, or the composition of any bench.
The National Archives (United Kingdom) · Legislation · link verified 2026-09-18
SCOPE: the statutory guarantee of judicial independence. The official consolidated text, read directly. Supports that the Lord Chancellor, other Ministers of the Crown and all with responsibility for matters relating to the judiciary or otherwise to the administration of justice must uphold the continued independence of the judiciary, and that subsection (2) disapplies the duty where imposing it would be within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament. The section is shown as extending to the whole United Kingdom (U.K.), and the Scottish carve-out inside it is the reason a U.K. extent does not mean a uniform rule.